[ LETTER ]

Officials Should Study Source of Substitutes Before Final Decision

Published: Friday, October 25, 2013 at 12:04 a.m.

Last Modified: Friday, October 25, 2013 at 12:04 a.m.

The latest scheme in the continuing privatization of our public school system is currently underway, or so a recent article seems to suggest ["Teacher Absences Leave Schools Scrambling to Fill the Classrooms," Oct. 18].

The decision to contract for substitute teachers with Kelly Educational Services appears to be all but a done deal, especially because "Per state rules, the School District would not have to review other companies in a competitive-bid process."

If, however, sometime between now and the November School Board meeting scheduled to rubber stamp the proposal, those leading the discussion have a bit of time, they might want to Google "Kelly Educational Services reviews" for an eye-opener or two from the 99 percent of people filling the classrooms and lining the pockets of the 1 percent invested in the company.

While logistically expedient, especially in terms of employing locally retired teachers during their one year post-DROP waiting period before they can re-enter the system — albeit at a greatly reduced salary — it seems a bit disingenuous to implicitly blame Obamacare as a major contributing factor for the dearth of substitutes.

The rate of pay offered by the School Board is perhaps a greater deterrent.

As for said retired teachers who have been taken care of by the system for so many years — unlike the majority of Kelly subs with little experience, minimal training and less-than- assiduous criminal background checks, who are willing to work for minimum wages with limited benefits at best — they may be in for a rude awakening when subcontracting their services to a for-profit temp agency (KELYA, currently trading at $20.37 per share on the NYSE as of this writing).

<p>The latest scheme in the continuing privatization of our public school system is currently underway, or so a recent article seems to suggest ["Teacher Absences Leave Schools Scrambling to Fill the Classrooms," Oct. 18].</p><p>The decision to contract for substitute teachers with Kelly Educational Services appears to be all but a done deal, especially because "Per state rules, the School District would not have to review other companies in a competitive-bid process."</p><p>If, however, sometime between now and the November School Board meeting scheduled to rubber stamp the proposal, those leading the discussion have a bit of time, they might want to Google "Kelly Educational Services reviews" for an eye-opener or two from the 99 percent of people filling the classrooms and lining the pockets of the 1 percent invested in the company.</p><p>While logistically expedient, especially in terms of employing locally retired teachers during their one year post-DROP waiting period before they can re-enter the system — albeit at a greatly reduced salary — it seems a bit disingenuous to implicitly blame Obamacare as a major contributing factor for the dearth of substitutes.</p><p>The rate of pay offered by the School Board is perhaps a greater deterrent.</p><p>As for said retired teachers who have been taken care of by the system for so many years — unlike the majority of Kelly subs with little experience, minimal training and less-than- assiduous criminal background checks, who are willing to work for minimum wages with limited benefits at best — they may be in for a rude awakening when subcontracting their services to a for-profit temp agency (KELYA, currently trading at $20.37 per share on the NYSE as of this writing).</p><p>CRAIG B. McKEE</p><p>Lakeland</p>